Pitcher Only

[Hillhouse]

Not sure why pitchers (and catcher) parents have such a hard time understanding that.

It's simple. A huge portion of teams out there exist because a dad didn't like how his DD was treated, didn't pitch enough, pitch enough games on Sundays, didn't bat 3rd in the order, or whatever infraction the coach did wrong in the dad's eyes. So, they create their own team where DD pitches all the big games and bats 3rd no matter what. Then, when they get to college, the coach has control and she finds out she isn't actually a #3 level hitter, or ace of a pitching staff. Of course, then they tell people the coach is an idiot and they enter the transfer portal. Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[_MIA_]

Some coaches are idiots. Some are not.

end of thread..actually it should have ended when the guy acted like baseball was some sort of plague. Only people who worry about
this sh*& are Dad's of pitchers who cannot hit their way out of a paper bag...in which case why should they hit?

Here is what you do if you have a coach who does this and your kid can actually can hit when you take off the parent goggles............................................................find another team.

 

[uncdrew]

Something to keep in mind for the future...Your DD should work on her overall fundamental skills as a ball player, and be competent at more than just 1B. There is a girl that was playing with my DD's team until recently who has been playing only 1B for many years. She's a solid defensive player, but her batting was struggling against decent pitching. As such, she was getting very limited playing time compared with other girls who are also good at 1B, but were hitting better. The bigger issue is that colleges don't often recruit 1Bs for their defensive abilities. Generally speaking, 1B is a place for girls who rake, but aren't strong at another position. Or, maybe a secondary position for a big-hitting catcher. At the college level, 1B is sometimes where you hide your hide your weakest fielder...as long as she can bomb. IMO, the dad of my DD's ex-teammate has done his kid a big disservice by keeping her at 1B all the time.

True, agree with you 100%.

My DD is slow. Strong, but slow. She's P1 on a solid team, and pitching is her thing. Loves it. She and I would love her to get more fielding elsewhere, but her lack of speed prevents most of that. If playing in college is going to be something she wants to do, it'll be as a P (and perhaps her bat).


[EDIT: yes, she and I work on field at 3B and OF, and yes, we do speed training and drills and have improved a lot]

 

[quincy]

DD has been hurt a few times playing SB.

2 most serious was her batting and her running bases.

I can understand coaches protecting their P regardless of how well they hit.

 

[kibadbo]

My DD is P1 for her team. Her coach plays her all over the field, but her hitting and fielding are beginning to suffer. She spends a lot of the practice time in the bullpen. It is also tough to squeeze BP in on her off days, because she is working on her pitching, has homework etc.

She is struggling to fit it all in, and I'm worried that she is going to burn herself out. I mean, the kid is 13 and she is asking for time management books for her birthday. I don't want to limit her, but I'm starting to think maybe going PO wouldn't be a terrible idea.

 

[uncdrew]

My DD is P1 for her team. Her coach plays her all over the field, but her hitting and fielding are beginning to suffer. She spends a lot of the practice time in the bullpen. It is also tough to squeeze BP in on her off days, because she is working on her pitching, has homework etc.

She is struggling to fit it all in, and I'm worried that she is going to burn herself out. I mean, the kid is 13 and she is asking for time management books for her birthday. I don't want to limit her, but I'm starting to think maybe going PO wouldn't be a terrible idea.

Yup, it's really hard.

Doing something "softball" every day is grueling, for sure. Her hitting coach jokingly said "I wish you weren't a pitcher and we could work on hitting more."

So I suppose the option are:

1. Don't do anything but softball
2. Get on a lesser team
3. Only focus on hitting/pitching


Honestly, I could see my DD doing 2. Maybe 3.

 

[_MIA_]

Yup, it's really hard.

Doing something "softball" every day is grueling, for sure. Her hitting coach jokingly said "I wish you weren't a pitcher and we could work on hitting more."

So I suppose the option are:

1. Don't do anything but softball
2. Get on a lesser team
3. Only focus on hitting/pitching


Honestly, I could see my DD doing 2. Maybe 3.

School gets in the way.. In all seriousness that is why so many individual sport athletes get home-schooled.

We home-schooled last year because of the uncertainty of everything and it was a lot easier for DD to get in individual work in (tee work, wall ball, basketball, etc)..Of course DW and DD were ready to kill each other by the end of the year so yeah it wasn't worth it...

 

[uncdrew]

Yeah, we did school virtual last year and wow, did it make getting to softball things so much easier.

 

[quincy]

DD has been home schooled for health reasons which is why I loved SB because it got her out there interacting with people.

Make sure you keep your priorities straight if you go this route.

 

[_MIA_]

DD has been home schooled for health reasons which is why I loved SB because it got her out there interacting with people.

Make sure you keep your priorities straight if you go this route.

DD is back in school this year and consequently I have received zero phone calls from home during the day from either a near puberty female or a near menopausal female..